RIPDab
Overview One of the founding teams of the League of Champions, #FreeOJ has long since been the league's bad guy. His notorious trash talk and wild strategies have created more enemies than friends, though his showman's personna has also provided an entertaining dimension to the competition. An avid student of the sport, #FreeOJ is notorious for over-analyzing situations and particularly risky draft strategies. Additionally, #FreeOJ is victim to one of the oddest trends in the league: the team has dominated odd numbered seasons (2011, 2013) while failing to hit .500 in the even numbered seasons (2012, 2014). #FreeOJ has placed as high as third (2011) but has yet to claim the coveted Champions Trophy, though their desire is as strong as any other team's in the league. 2011 Draft FreeOJ was awarded the 9th pick in the 2011 draft by way of randomization. He took the fourth QB of the opening round, Aaron Rodgers, who outscore the next best player on the roster by 590.13 points. Wes Welker, the teams leading WR, was taken 40th overall while Dexter McCluster (136th overall) became the leading rusher. Regular Season Dominance FreeOJ entered the 2011 season on fire. FOJ went the four weeks prior to the start of the byes without a loss, averaging 250.30 PPG and peaking with the first ever 300+ point game in league history. During that stretch, Rodgers had a 12-2 TD/INT ratio and Wes Welker led the league with 40 receptions for 616 yards. The roughest patch of the regular season came in the beginning weeks of the bye period. #FreeOJ fell to 4-2 after a 4.65 point defeat by Lock THIS and an 86.01 point blowout by B-2 Hallway Gangsters. The latter loss marked the first in a five game stretch where #FreeOJ would fail to reach 200 points four times. By the time week 11's matchup with Reign Maker (then Morning Woodhead) came around, #FreeOJ was back on track and riding a second four-game win streak. The match had big post-season implications as both teams were 8-2 and jockying for position atop the leaderboard. The winner of the matchup would have the inside track to the one seed while the loser would still have to compete with B-2 Hallway Gangstas and Fire Goodell for the second bye spot. FreeOJ, in the spirit of Joe Namath, guarenteed the victory and compared it to Alabama vs. LSU, a game in which Alabama was heavily favored but lost to LSU in a shoot-out. They even went further and predicted the final score to be 275-222 in favor of #FreeOJ. The matchup, which was billed as a "Clash of the Titans," did not live up to the hype. FOJ's lone weakness was a kicker on the bye, while RM was without star running back Arian Foster. Jordy Nelson exploded for 123 yards and two touchdowns and #FreeOJ won 246.90-118.23. Despite the victory, #FreeOJ still found the 1 seed in jeopardy entering the last week of the season. They were coming off a revenge-game loss by Papa's Posse, who they had beaten in week one. #FreeOJ did not control its own destiny and needed a Reign Maker loss and a win to secure the top spot. For once, #FreeOJ won the day. They had their second best performance of the season while Morning Woodhead lost to the same team of destiny that had beaten FOJ a week earlier, Papa's Posse. 2011 Playoff Collapse Thanks to Papa's Posse, the one seed belonged to Bust a Cap. Little did they know at the time that the gift was actually a curse. With the week off, Bust a Cap needed only to wait for their opponent. Instead, they chose to anger the Fantasy Gods with one of the cockiest moves ever made. On the bye week, Bust a Cap intentionally moved all of their starters to the bench in order to "rest" them for the semifinals. They then issued the following statement to the league: Time to rest the starters in my first round bye but even though i am an obvious favorite there is no reason for any of you to give up just yet. all i know is i would not want to be either lock this or B-2 hallway gangstas because you both have a tough road to the super bowl. Due to this action, the record books acknowledge #FreeOJ as scoring the least number of points in a single week in the history of the league (0), though in fact the record legitimately belongs to Brak and Yellow. As a direct violation of the Fantasy Gods' will, #FreeOJ had sealed their fate. #FreeOJ had the lowest week 15 score among all four semifinalist teams and the two participants in the fifth place game. The 147.57 points was uncharacteristically low with the team averaging 225.99 PPG. As a final punishment from the Fantasy Gods, the following week #FreeOJ scored 272.47 in the third place game, enough to have won them the Champions Trophy had they made it to the 2011 Championship Game. 2012 Draft The controversial 2012 season began as early as the draft for #FreeOJ. Unlike in future seasons, the draft order was randomly selected in part due to the twelve-to-ten team consolidation that took place during the off-season. #FreeOJ was awarded the 7th pick and used it to take Calvin Johnson. He would then take Cam Newton, a large downgrade from last year's starter Aaron Rodgers. Starting with the 67th overall pick, #FreeOJ employed a never-before-seen draft strategy. Up until then he had not drafted a single RB, a risky strategy in and of itself. Starting with Michael Bush, #FreeOJ drafted six handcuffs throughout the rest of the draft. The theory was that at least one of the starting RBs would lose their job to injury or performance and #FreeOJ would have the backup ready to go. The plan would only work if one of those six teams had a starting RB go down. Also of note is the lack of Kicker taken during the draft and the gap from pick 27 to 67 where FOJ picked nothing but Wide Receivers. This went down as one of the worst drafts in LOC history. Lost Season 2012 was #FreeOJ's lost season, the year the franchise tries to forget. The 4-0 start last season was a distant past. This year the team would open 2-2 and that would be the last time they were close to .500. They opened the season against Papa's Posse, the same team that knocked them out of playoff contention the previous year. With high hopes of revenge, FOJ was instead pummeled by 72.31 points. Papa's Posse would only win three games all season and two of them were against OJ. In the early goings it appeared #FreeOJ's RB strategy was going to work. Steelers starting RB Rashard Mendenhall had trouble getting on the field, making Redman a good handcuff pick at 114. Then Matt Forte went down with an injury in week two, setting Michael Bush up for the week three start. However it soon became clear that backup runningbacks don't win championships. Willing to try anything, #FreeOJ underwent a name change prior to week five. From their original name, Multiple Score-Gasms became The Storm, where they would remain all season. Trying to boost the team's confidence, FOJ owner Follett issued a statement: ...You have poked the bear and he is angry. I will not allow such lousy play on my team anymore...you can grab an umbrella but you can NOT quiet the storm. As confident as he sounded, all the more poorly his team performed in the following weeks. Starters on Chicago and Pittsburgh got healthy, rendering Bush and Redman useless. By mid-October, with the team sitting at 3-5, it was clear the season was a bust. They had already won all the games they were going to win. TankGate With the season well in the books, #FreeOJ turned to darker means of success. His actions during the second half of the season have been viewed by some as smart strategy and others by cheating, with many falling somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. Throughout the final weeks of the year owner Nate Follett went toe to toe with the Commish. In weeks 1-7, FOJ averaged 199.49 PPG. In the final six weeks the team averaged 166.22 PPG. FOJ continued to wheel and deal, trading with four different teams over the course of the season. Before long a trend began to emerge: each trade involved #FreeOJ receiving a high draft pick for compensation. In an October 2 trade, FOJ received a 3 for a 5 in addition to the player transaction. On October 12 they traded top WR Chris Johnson for Darren McFadden from GaroppoblowMe (then Welker's Fingertips). To make the trade less lopsided, FOJ received a 3rd round pick in exchange for a 6th. Follett began getting aggressive with the other managers behind closed doors. In one such meeting, Follett exclaimed "PAY ATTENTION," claiming to have three trade proposals with three different franchises that had not be acknowledged. Questions arose after week 9 as to why the team was continuing to start Cam Newton while Josh Freeman was having a career season on the bench. Darren McFadden became injured, adding to the notion that the Johnson/McFadden trade was the worst ever executed. After an embarrassing week 11 loss, #FreeOJ put Percy Harvin on the trade block. On 11/15 a trade was set in motion that would send Percy Harvin to butt fuckers for Chris Givens. Harvin had almost double the stats in every major category but was injured and would not play again following an 11/4 game against Seattle. Included in the trade was a clause that sent a 3rd rounder to #FreeOJ in exchange for an 8. The trade was the final straw. Commissioner DiGennaro unleashed on team ownership, firing off comments about the immaturity of managers who tank their teams for high draft picks. Proclaiming that this was the final year draft picks would be traded, the Commish was clearly taking shots at #FreeOJ and their various trades. That week the Fantasy Gods ranked #FreeOJ 11th out of 10 teams. In one final statement during the veto period, the Commish gave his best case for why the trade should be declined: I'm not going to flex my commish powers and overrule trades because I think they're unfair but I'd like everyone to go look at the pending trades this morning and decide for yourselves whether they should be vetoed or not. I got to be honest I feel a little insulted that certain people (not naming names) think that they need to cheat the system in my league and stack picks for next season in order to win. But that's just me, a guy who is a semi-compitant drafter and likes to win fairly. The statement set off a fire storm among league owners, with Paddock 9 challenging managers to real life football in order to settle all disputes. While that never came to fruition, the controversial trade was vetoed and none of the draft picks that were swapped during the 2012 season took effect in 2013. on November 20th, 2012 there was a straight up draft pick swap between #FreeOJ and Paddock 9, made in an attempt to rectify actions made in late September. Team Owner Follett also reached out to representatives from GaroppoblowMe to try and initiate a trade that would return the third round draft pick taken in the October 12th trade but was declined. To this day #FreeOJ claims to not have been purposefully tanking, as evidenced by their victory of ma ma momma said (the 2012's top team). They further argue that team actions and trades were all within the confines of the league rules. 2013 Draft Regardless of how people felt about the way #FreeOJ conducted themselves during the 2012 season, his plan worked. He was granted the first pick in the 2013 draft. Poised for success, #FreeOJ had an improved draft. Adrian Peterson was coming off of his MVP season and saw his yard production cut almost in half but he would still be a 2013 Pro-Bowler. Still, two of his top five scorers (Jimmy Graham and DeSean Jackson) would come in an early season trade from Deez Sons of Bitchez. This would mark the second time in three years that #FreeOJ drafted Dexter McCluster, though it is worth noting that McCluster was picked up off free agency on December 5, 2012, making this the third straight season that McCluster would be on the FOJ roster. A Return to Dominance FreeOJ had a lot to prove and new enemies to vanquish at the start of 2013. Accepting his role as the villain they changed their team name to Hernandez' Bracelets, a reference to the handcuffs used to restrain the murdering Tight End. New to the league was girlfriend and soon to be roommate Deez Sons of Bitchez (then going by Girl on Fire). Following the second win of the season, FOJ initiated a megatrade that sent pro-bowler Dez Bryant, RB Reggie Bush, and TE Pettigrew to Dee in exchange for Jimmy Graham and DeSean Jackson. Graham was a major upgrade at Tight End and despite the loss of Dez Bryant, DeSean Jackson would end up having the season of his career and almost completely making up for the loss. By the time the two faced each other in week six, FOJ was undefeated and Dee was 2-3. By winning the week 6 matchup and improving to 6-0, FOJ had already doubled their wins from last season. FreeOJ wasn't about to get any credit for their success. Detractors pointed out that the team in fifth place had a higher point total. FOJ did their best to defend themselves, claiming they registered high scoring games more consistently. The Shotti Bunch, one such team that was none too pleased with the team's 2012 actions, responded by saying the only thing consistent about FOJ was the lowest opponant point total in the league. None of the jabs by the naysayers mattered. By November 2, following a week 9 win vs. Paddock 9, #FreeOJ clinched their season playoff appearance in three years. If there was any indicator that things weren't going to go as planned in the post-season, it was the week 13 loss to The Shotti Bunch. There had always been bad blood between the two franchises but Shotti's 3.9 point victory officially ignited the rivalry. Semifinal Woes Continue For the second time, #FreeOJ went into the post-season with the one seed and a first round bye. Unlike in 2011 there were no benchings, but everything else remained the same. #FreeOJ had its third lowest point total of the season and the worst among all six teams participating in week 15, losing to none other than The Shotti Bunch. Adrian Peterson led the way with over 200 yards, but Matthew Stafford threw 3 interceptions in a low scoring loss to the Ravens. For the second time, their semifinal opponant went on to win the Championship Game while FOJ came up empty handed. 2014 Draft FreeOJ had a tumultuous, booze-infused 2014 draft. As the draft approched, concerns arose over the quality of internet access, as team HQ was moved days prior to the draft. The problems would persist throughout the evening. Coming off one of the 'good years,' FOJ (then known as Peyton InThePlayoffs) again had the 7th overall pick. However, because of the Delay Incident, team owner Nate Follett had consumed significantly more alcohol by the time the 11:00 reschedule time came around. As a result, he fell asleep. For once, the Fantasy Gods sided with FOJ when Deez Sons of Bitchez joined the draft after aledging that both team owners would autodraft their teams. The Fantasy Gods woke Nate from his booze coma and alerted him of the mischievous activity. Though he missed his first pick he was able to stay awake for the majority of his draft, which was later viewed as a failure. With the 7th overall pick, #FreeOJ once again took Calvin Johnson, same as during the disasterous 2012 season. In the 5th round FOJ paired Megatron with his QB, Matthew Stafford. Coming off of their best regular season in league history, FOJ felt confident bringing back their franchise QB for another shot at the title. Stafford would have seven fewer TDs but average just 24.5 fewer Yds/G and see an improvement in his passer rating. Dexter McCluster was selected 94th overall, marking the third time in four seasons that #FreeOJ drafted the Kansas City all-purpose back and the fourth season the Mississippi grade made it on the roster. #FreeOJ would have the second most roster moves during the 2014 season, behind only Paddock 9. As a result they wouldn't end up with any players taken during their team after the 7th round with the exception of Kelvin Benjamin. Bad Case of the Evens #FreeOJ started the season with a win for the fourth year in a row. After a 2-0 start, many believed that the curse of the even seasons would be broken. Then they faced their old nemesis, The Shotti Bunch. That was when the losing began and it didn't let up until week 10. FOJ didn't just lose, they were repeatidly blown out by other teams. They broke the 200 point threshhold five times over thirteen weeks. In comparison, 2014 League Champion Reign Maker broke the 200 point line nine times. Unlike last season, FOJ faced the second toughest schedule and outscored teams that finished in playoff positions in the standings. Injuries marred the performance of Calvin Johnson, whose receptions had dropped by 51 between 2012 and 2014. #FreeOJ won just four games and became a shell of their former playoff self. The trashtalk dropped off as management realized it wouldn't be until 2015, an odd year, that the team would have a chance to make a playoff run.